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As for price, when I entered the hobby you could purchase a Atlas 3 car diesel freight set with a E8 diesel, hopper car, boxcar, caboose, 11 sections of curved track, 1 re-railer track, 1 straight track section and a power pack for $19.98. In the Nov-Dec 2014 NSR there is an ad for "The Bachmann Stallion" train set for $149, which is pretty much the modern day version of that Atlas N scale train set of 1968. Also back in 1969, Atlas N scale remote turnouts were $3.50 each and manual turnouts were $2.50 each. According to the Census department Median household income rose to approximately $7,700 in 1968, I'll let someone else figure out the math on weather it's more expensive today to build a small layout.
Another HCD for N scale? Is that what they think of us?
Marty, at the risk of looking like an idiot (risk?), what is the formal title of your N scale book? And is it still available? I search "Androscoggin Central" at Amazon and came u empty.
Try this link: http://www.kalmbachstore.com/12428.htmlDFF
I don't know about them, but it's clear what you think of us. Sincerely,The HCD Collective
HCD Collective,Note the word "another", indicating repetition, a word that has important meaning in my message. I think small layouts are great, but repeating that in N scale sends a message that N scale is only for those with space limitations. Granted, that is one of its obvious benefits but the MR staff could have just have easily selected Z scale for such a project, no? It hasn't done a Z scale layout yet. Oh wait, Z scale is pretty cost-prohibitive to entry-level modelers and still pretty limited in selection.I'm not the type to believe conspiracy theories, but I feel N scale is being pegged as the starter scale, not just this as a starter layout. And since you cherry picked from my message to make your point, perhaps you'll go back and note that there's more to it. If this isn't just a starter layout, how about MR staff take on some Q-specific projects that require more than off-the-shelf purchases to - like the mentioned nose headlights (an important detail on Q hood units) and its more distinctive waycars - add richness to the pretty layout they've created. They probably won't. They'll do it in HO because it's easier, but they won't try their hand in N. Like someone pointed out, why couldn't they have done the Beer Line layout in N, imagine all that Cream City urban grit that would have fit in, but wait, no one makes the right FM units... N scale's become what HO was during the heyday of O but MR doesn't have the chutzpah to push it.
You're over-thinking this. N scale is no more pigeon-holed into HCDs than HO is into 4x8s. It's the most popular size to start with, but I wouldn't read anything into it.